Understanding Corporate Social Investments` results measurement in South Africa: A Case of Three Foundations

Abstract

Corporate Social Investments (CSIs) bridge the gap between social development work and private corporate sector involvement. In South Africa, CSIs are implemented through different mechanisms. Companies set up separate entities such as Corporate Foundations (CFs) to implement social development projects directly or partner with the government or Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Corporate Social Investments are a component of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the term is mainly used in South Africa. CSI aims at fulfilling the company's obligations of compliance with the law and there is an expectation that these investments can uplift the socioeconomic status of the communities they operate in. CFs are usually a part of the company's CSI and registered as separate entities, typically Non-Profit entities. Challenges exist in the current CSI delivery, results measurement, and practice, including methods used and a need for more consensus on the types of outcomes to measure. This research fills this gap by assessing the three CFs implementing CSI projects in different fields. The research focuses on the results measurement of the work of three CFs in South Africa. The gist of the study is on how rigorous Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) methods can provide corporates with useful feedback and use the knowledge as a strategic tool. The research draws from theories on CSR (legitimacy, Knowledge-Based View) and M&E (Evaluation). The research utilises a qualitative exploratory methodology that allows for deeper insights and probing into the CSI activities of the three selected foundations. Data was collected from foundation staff, community, implementing partners, and external evaluators. Information from the secondary sources assisted in corroborating the primary data. The research compares the different approaches from the three foundations. Including three foundations provides a broader perspective from different foundations, identifies similarities, and differences, and justifies the need for a more standard approach to results measurement across foundations. CFs publicly publish results on their websites and reports, showing the extent of their reach in numbers. This research argues that providing a mix of results in numbers and narratives allows for a more robust approach to results measurement beyond compliance reporting which can allow for corporates to gain a competitive advantage and justify continued CSI funding to the shareholders. Organisations in South Africa often implement CSI activities to fulfil the Broad- Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE). As a result, the M&E activities provide data 5 that can respond to BBBEE requirements, mostly the number of people reached. These results are reported in the CF’s annual reporting and the corporate sustainability reporting. CFs are set up to fulfil the BBBEE of the company, and research shows that responsible investment can have a positive implication for the business. The research argues on the importance of understanding how specific results can imply business growth. This is shown through the relevance and importance of triple-loop learning, where the foundation produces data that can support transformative processes for the business. To achieve this, the research recommends a more robust and mixed method approach to tracking results and aggregating them over time, which can be shown in the proposed social statement. This system allows better engagement with results from multiple stakeholders and comparisons across projects.